Non-modal search box with text-entry ribbon for a portable media player

Abstract

A non-modal search box with a text-entry ribbon for a portable media player. The non-modal search box enables a user to quickly and efficiently locate media on the portable media player, without having to enter a specific search mode. The non-modal search box may be present on one or more media player screens, without the user first having to select a search option or otherwise indicate a desire to search for a piece of media. The non-modal search box allows a user to navigate between the search box and search results without having to switch modes. The search box is an input box for character entry. The search box may utilize a text-entry ribbon to allow a user to input characters into the search box.

1 . A system for locating and selecting objects on a portable media device, the system comprising:
 an input component for receiving a character string selected by a user from characters displayed on a screen of the portable media device, wherein the character string comprises one or more characters indicative of one or more objects located on the portable media device;   a filtering component for identifying a list of objects located on the portable media device that are associated with the character string received by the input component;   a display component for simultaneously displaying to the user the character string received by the input component and the list of objects identified by the filtering component; and   a navigation component that allows the user to move between the character string displayed by the display component and the list of objects displayed by the display component, wherein the user may modify the character string when the user has navigated to the character string and the user may select an object from the list of objects when the user has navigated to the list of objects.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the input component comprises:
 a text-entry component comprising a list of individually-selectable characters that allows the user to enter a character; and   a string display component that displays one or more entered characters by the user.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the list of individually-selectable characters is a lowercase alphabet presented in alphabetical order. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the list of individually-selectable characters is an uppercase alphabet presented in alphabetical order. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the list of individually-selectable characters is a list of single integers presented in numerical order. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the list of individually-selectable characters is a list of symbols. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the text-entry component is only enabled when the user has navigated to the text-entry component. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the user may traverse the list of displayed objects and the character string is displayed to the user in a fixed location as the user traverses the list. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the user may traverse the list of displayed objects and the text-entry component and string display are displayed to the user in a fixed location as the user traverses the list. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the user may traverse the list of displayed objects and the character string is no longer displayed to the user after the user traverses a certain distance in the list. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the user may traverse the list of displayed objects and the text-entry component and string display are no longer displayed after the user traverses a certain distance in the list. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the string display is pre-populated with a character string. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the string display initially contains no character string. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 2  wherein a user action associated with an individually-selectable character causes a character other than the individually-selectable character to be entered. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the filtering component generates a list of objects each time the user adds a new character to the character string or modifies the character string. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15  wherein the display component displays the list of objects each time the filtering component generates a list of objects. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1  wherein objects are associated with the character string when a first word in a title of the object begins with the character string. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 1  wherein objects are associated with the character string when any word in a title of the object begins with the character string. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the objects are media files. 
     
     
         20 . A method of locating and selecting objects on a portable media device, the method comprising:
 receiving a character string from a user, wherein the character string is selected by the user from characters displayed on a screen of the portable media device, and wherein the character string comprises one or more characters indicative of one or more objects located on the portable media device;   identifying a list of objects located on the portable media device that are associated with the received character string;   displaying to the user the received character string and the list of identified objects; and   allowing the user to move between the displayed character string and the displayed list of objects, wherein the user may modify the character string when the user has navigated to the character string and the user may select an object from the list of objects when the user has navigated to the list of objects.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20  wherein receiving a character string from a user comprises:
 displaying to the user a list of individually-selectable characters;   allowing the user to select one or more characters from among the displayed list; and   displaying the one or more characters selected by the user.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the list of individually-selectable characters is a lowercase alphabet presented in alphabetical order. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the list of individually-selectable characters is an uppercase alphabet presented in alphabetical order. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the list of individually-selectable characters is a list of single integers presented in numerical order. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the list of individually-selectable characters is a list of symbols. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 21  wherein a user may select one or more characters only when the user has navigated to the list of individually-selectable characters. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the user may traverse the displayed list of objects, and wherein the character string is displayed to the user in a fixed location as the user traverses the list. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the user may traverse the displayed list of objects, and wherein the list of individually-selectable characters and the characters selected by the user are displayed to the user in a fixed location as the user traverses the list. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the user may traverse the displayed list of objects, and wherein the character string is no longer displayed to the user after the user traverses a certain distance in the list. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the user may traverse the list of displayed objects, and wherein the list of individually-selectable characters and the characters selected by the user are no longer displayed after the user traverses a certain distance in the list. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 21  wherein one or more pre-selected characters are displayed to the user before the user has selected a character from among the displayed list. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 21  wherein no characters are displayed to the user before the user has selected a character from among the displayed list. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 21  wherein a user action associated with an individually-selectable character causes selection of a character other than the individually-selectable character to be entered. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 20  further comprising generating a list of objects each time the user adds a new character to the character string or modifies the character string. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34  wherein the list of objects is displayed each time a list of objects is generated. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 20  wherein objects are associated with the received character string when a first word in a title of the object begins with the received character string. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 20  wherein objects are associated with the received character string when any word in a title of the object begins with the received character string. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the objects are media files. 
     
     
         39 . A method of locating and selecting objects on a portable computing device that has a screen with limited display capacity, the method comprising:
 allowing a user to navigate horizontally to enter one or more characters on the screen, wherein the characters are indicative of one or more objects located on the portable computing device;   identifying one or more objects located on the portable computing device that are associated with the entered characters;   displaying to the user the entered characters horizontally on the screen and the identified one or more objects in a vertical list on the screen, wherein the entered characters and the list of objects are displayed concurrently on the screen; and   allowing the user to navigate vertically to select among the list of objects and horizontally to modify the entered characters.   
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39  wherein allowing the user to navigate horizontally to enter one or more characters comprises:
 displaying to the user a horizontal list of individually-selectable characters;   allowing the user to select one or more characters from the displayed list; and   displaying horizontally on the screen the one or more characters selected by the user.   
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 39  wherein the user may traverse the displayed list of objects, and wherein the entered characters are displayed to the user in a fixed location on the screen as the user traverses the list. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 40  wherein the user may traverse the displayed list of objects, and wherein the list of individually-selectable characters and the characters selected by the user are displayed to the user in a fixed location on the screen as the user traverses the list. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 39  wherein the user may traverse the displayed list of objects, and wherein the entered characters are no longer displayed to the user on the screen after the user traverses a certain distance in the list. 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 40  wherein the user may traverse the list of displayed objects, and wherein the list of individually-selectable characters and the characters selected by the user are no longer displayed on the screen after the user traverses a certain distance in the list. 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 40  wherein a user action associated with an individually-selectable character causes selection of a character other than the individually-selectable character to be entered. 
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 39  further comprising identifying one or more objects each time the user enters a new character or modifies a previously entered character. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 46  wherein the list of objects is displayed each time one or more objects is identified. 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 40  wherein a user may select one or more characters only when the user has navigated to the list of individually-selectable characters. 
     
     
         49 . A system for locating and selecting objects on a portable computing device that has a screen with limited display capacity, the system comprising:
 an input component that allows the user to navigate horizontally to enter one or more characters on a screen of the portable computing device, wherein the characters are indicative of one or more objects located on the device;   a filtering component for identifying one or more objects located on the portable computing device that are associated with the entered characters;   a display component for displaying to the user the entered characters horizontally on the screen and a list of the identified one or more objects vertically on the screen, wherein the entered characters and the list of identified objects are displayed concurrently on the same screen; and   a navigation component for allowing the user to navigate vertically to select from among the list of displayed objects and horizontally to modify the one or more displayed characters.   
     
     
         50 . The system of  claim 49  wherein the input component comprises:
 a text-entry component comprising a list of individually-selectable characters that allows the user to enter a character; and   a string display component that displays one or more entered characters by the user.   
     
     
         51 . The system of  claim 50  wherein the list of individually-selectable characters is only enabled when the user has navigated to the list of individually-selectable characters. 
     
     
         52 . The system of  claim 49  wherein the user may traverse the list of displayed objects and the entered characters are displayed to the user in a fixed location on the screen as the user traverses the list. 
     
     
         53 . The system of  claim 50  wherein the user may traverse the list of displayed objects and the text-entry component and string display are displayed to the user in a fixed location on the screen as the user traverses the list. 
     
     
         54 . The system of  claim 49  wherein the user may traverse the list of displayed objects and the entered characters are no longer displayed to the user on the screen after the user traverses a certain distance in the list. 
     
     
         55 . The system of  claim 50  wherein the user may traverse the list of displayed objects and the text-entry component and string display are no longer displayed on the screen after the user traverses a certain distance in the list. 
     
     
         56 . The system of  claim 50  wherein a user action associated with an individually-selectable character causes a character other than the individually-selectable character to be entered. 
     
     
         57 . The system of  claim 49  wherein the filtering component identifies one or more objects each time the user enters a new character or modifies a previously entered character. 
     
     
         58 . The system of  claim 57  wherein the display component displays the list of objects each time the filtering component generates one or more objects.